


Stupid Traditions

by Empress_of_Weebs



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Awkward Crush, Bernadetta von Varley Needs a Hug, Blushing, Dessert & Sweets, F/M, Felix smiles at her, Festival, First Date, First Kiss, Flowers, Love Poem, Nervousness, Traditions, Valentine's Day Fluff, because Sylvain forced him to, like a lot, then she's okay again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29463984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Empress_of_Weebs/pseuds/Empress_of_Weebs
Summary: Felix never cared for romance or dating. He didn't when he was a child, and he certainly didn't now. But now that he was in the marriageable age, his father wanted him to ask a noblewoman to be his date for the festival of lovers. Felix was everything but happy with this. But fortunately he had Sylvain to help him - if he wanted or not.Bernadetta did care for romance and dating. Not that it mattered. No one would ever date her, because no one would ever love her. It was like her father had said countless times; She was worthless, useless and unmarriageable. When she suddenly finds flowers on her doorstep on the 1st of Pegasus moon, she should have been happy - but instead she was only scared.A story in which teasing that annoys Felix makes him play along with traditions he hates to go out with the girl that he loves.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	Stupid Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! While I've been writing fanfictions for some time now, this is the first time I dared to actually post one because I was really, really anxious about it, and I hope it's good so please be kind.
> 
> Also I know I'm a bit late for valentine's day but I just wanted to make some cute Felibern fluff since there is NEVER enough Felibern in the world and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to create an account here.
> 
> Anyway I hope you like it and have fun reading it!

Pegasus moon was a particularly annoying time for Felix. Not only was his birthday in Pegasus moon, which he didn't look forward to, but was it also that time of year in which everyone became all focused on love and romance and such nonsense.

He already hated it when he was a little boy and Sylvain would push him on some girl which made all the adults giggle and exclaim how cute that was. It wasn't cute. It was stupid and Felix would run away ashamed every time, face burning red and tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

And all the adults started acting strange too. Felix was pretty young when his mother died, but he still remembered how his father would bring her flowers every day starting on the 1st of the Pegasus moon until the 14th - Saint Viridia day, the day of lovers.

Saint Viridia was a child of the goddess who lived with her in the red canyon. She was told to be very compassionate and also an exceptional warrior, even among the children of the goddess. When Nemesis and the ten elites attacked them, she was one of the first to pick up a weapon and fight to protect her home and her people, but when Nemesis defeated Sothis and it became obvious that they couldn't win this battle she told the ones who survived to flee while she holds the attackers off. Legends say she and saint Seiros had a heated argument for she wanted to stay by Viridia's side, but at the end she convinced her to take the others and flee.

She didn't do it for glory or because she thought her life to be worth less than the lives of the others; she did it because she knew that there was no other way. All of them would have died this day if it hadn't been for her brave sacrifice. She loved the others so much she was willing to die to ensure their safety if they couldn't all survive it.

That at least, Felix could respect, unlike those fools who threw their lives away for nothing just to be celebrated as heroes in books later on.

In honor of her sister-in-arms and her act of kindness and selflessness, saint Seiros declared saint Viridia the patron saint of love afterwards; however, she had meant all kinds of love. The love for family, the love for friends, the love for comrades; just the purest and most selfless form of love. But nowadays, all that was celebrated on saint Viridia's birthday was romantic love, which had nothing to do with the old tale of the saint.

The tale was about brotherhood and having someone worth fighting for, not about silly traditions involving flowers and confessions of love. The people started forgetting about the origin of the festival and instead of celebrating the day of love, they celebrated the day of lovers.

This silly festival was the whole reason for all of this nonsense.

Usually Felix could avoid the festivities, but now that he was at Garreg Mach there was no way around it. All the students of the Officers Academy were giddy with excitement because of the festival ahead of them. The halls were decorated, they got more lessons off than usual and everyone was talking about who would go with who to the festival.

Sylvain was among those who were talking about nothing else anymore. But nothing else was to be expected from the redhead, as he was _the_ ladies man of the monastery. Many were talking about who he might ask on a date and many were praying to Sothis that it would be them. But as Sylvain had told Felix - even though he said on multiple occasions that he couldn't care less - he was going the ask the monastery's beauty, Dorothea, a girl who coincidentally did not swoon over him. But maybe that was the reason he was interested in her to begin with.

At least Ingrid was still acting normal. She wasn't interested in the festival of love either, but still she couldn't understand Felix's resentment of the day of lovers. This year he was especially grumpy about the Pegasus moon approaching.

The truth was, that even though the many students in the mood to celebrate love were annoying, they weren't the problem. The problem was a letter his father had sent him shortly before. Rodrigue had written him that he should use this opportunity to spend time with some of the noble girls of the monastery and get to know them better, since soon he would need to find him a fiancee.

 _Should_ use this opportunity meant he _had_ to in this context. And his father finding him a fiancee made him everything else but happy. So he was supposed to go to this ridiculous festival and chat up girls of noble birth as if he was Sylvain. He had absolutely no interest in this.

"So what? Your dad wants you to go to a party and have fun? What's the problem?" Sylvain asked. Felix rolled his eyes. "He wants me to talk to noblewomen to find someone he can betroth me to." He crossed his arms.

Sylvain smiled sympathetically. "At least he lets you have a say in it... He just wants you to find someone you like, so you get along with your future bride"

Felix rolled his eyes again. "But I don't want to marry anyone at all"

Sylvain huffed amused. "Are you sure about that?"

Felix frowned annoyed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean _that_ " Sylvain pointed to a piece of paper on the wall of Felix's dorm room, showing a drawing of Felix and Bernadetta as cats. The timid archer had drawn this for him moons ago, and then she nervously gave it to him, rambling on about how he didn't have to take it if he didn't like it but he probably didn't like it anyway because what was there to like about it he probably thought it was silly and it was okay if he'd burn it.

He then sighed annoyed, told her to shut up and snatched the piece of paper from her hands, mumbling something about how he would just put it into one of his drawers, sounding disinterested.

At the end he didn't do that. He pinned it against his wall and every time he came back from his training and saw this stupid, silly picture as soon as he opened his door, he immediately had to smile.

Felix shrugged. "What about it?" He asked.

"What about it?" Sylvain repeated rhetorically. "Felix, please. This picture wouldn't hang there if it wasn't a gift of Bernadetta. You like her."

Felix frowned grumpily. "I _don't_ " He said. Sylvain rolled his eyes while smiling. "Felix, it's nothing bad to like someone! It's actually good in your situation! That means there's a girl you can ask on a date for the day of lovers!"

Felix huffed. "I won't ask her on a date. I don't want to date her."

"I'm sure it would make your father happy to hear you asked a girl to be your date for the day of lovers, one of noble birth at that, heiress to one of the six great houses of the empire and a crest-bearer." Sylvain said while wiggling his eyebrows. Felix scowled at him. "I don't plan to appease my father. I won't date anyone and I don't like Bernadetta. We're just friends."

Sylvain shrugged, smiling knowingly. "Fine, you don't like her then. But I'm just saying..." He pointed at the picture again. "You wouldn't pin this to your wall if _I_ would have drawn it"

  
  


Felix couldn't stop thinking about what Sylvain had said. It was foolish of course, but maybe not such a bad idea. After all he was friends with Bernadetta, so maybe he could go on a date with her without anything behind it. Both of them would just go as friends _and_ both their fathers would shut up for a while.

Also, if he went to the festival with her, no other women would try to hit on him. And if he _had_ to go to the festival, he couldn't imagine anyone he would rather go with than her. At first she was pretty annoying with how she always screamed and ran away from him, but now that they knew each other better she wasn't scared of him anymore and was calm around him. Even felt safe. By now, she was about the least annoying person Felix knew.

She always left him his space if he needed it and she didn't force him to do things he didn't want to do. Bernadetta was content just sitting with him without talking, never tried to force him to chit chat or small talk and silence wasn't awkward with her. It was comfortable. _He_ felt comfortable when he was with her, even if she was showing him her carnivorous plants or when she went on and on about some book she was reading. No matter if she was training with him or if they just spent time together in her room, he was always content when Bernadetta was there.

Maybe even this horrible festival was endurable when she was by his side. If anyone could make it endurable, it must have been her.

"Felix" Seteth's voice interrupted his train of thought. Felix looked up and blinked a few times, surprised at suddenly being called. Seteth, who was standing at the front of the classroom, looked displeased with him for zoning out during his seminar. "Mind telling us what's so interesting it keeps distracting you?"

Felix frowned pissed about being called out. "...Swords" He lied. Seteth rolled his eyes. "Please do me a favor and think about swords when you're in a _sword_ seminar..." Then he turned back to the blackboard.

"Why are you even here?" Ingrid whispered to him, her eyes fixated on what Seteth was drawing on the blackboard. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm always happy when you attend to seminars instead of just going to the training grounds, but a seminar on lances? I've never seen you even holding a lance..." She said.

Sylvain giggled quietly. "I think he came here for the sight..." He pointed to the desk at the front where Bernadetta was studying after Seteth had forced her to sit at the front of the class. Other than Felix she was quite skilled with the lance, but since she still had much to learn about it the professor had sent her into Seteth's seminar.

Now the recluse was writing down what Seteth was explaining while Felix's eyes were glued to the back of her head.

Ingrid frowned at Sylvain and smacked him. "Sylvain! Stop saying such things! Felix wouldn't go into a seminar just to stare at a girl, that's something _you_ would do!"

"If the three of you have to talk about something, please do it outside of the classroom and stop disturbing my seminar. If not, be quiet and listen." Seteth warned them again.

"Apologies. It won't happen again." Ingrid said, straightening herself. And she was serious about this. After all she came here to learn something. Sylvain wasn't quite that motivated. About six minutes later, when he was sure Seteth wasn't looking at them, he whispered as quietly as possible: "Well what do you think why else he's here? The professor assigned him to learn about swords and reason, not lances. But he knew that Bernie was training her lance technique, so he's here."

Ingrid widened her eyes. "Is that true Felix?" She asked, sounding disappointed.

He growled. "Shouldn't you be silent?"

"Answer Felix!" Ingrid demanded. Felix sighed and turned away. "Maybe..." He mumbled. Sylvain smiled satisfied. "I knew you like her. Just ask her Felix!"

"Ask what?" Ingrid asked, raising an eyebrow. Felix groaned while Sylvain was more than happy to answer: "Ask her to be his date for saint Viridia day! He has a crush on her but he denies it!"

Felix's head whipped around and he scowled at him, growling as quietly as possible. "That's not true!" He hissed.

"Yes true!" Sylvain said, grinning. Ingrid smiled to herself, thinking out loud: "You and Bernadetta at the festival... that could be romantic" She agreed with Sylvain, nodding satisfied.

Felix rolled his eyes. "I don't want it to be! We. Are. Friends!"

"Sure" Sylvain rolled his eyes while smiling. "Friends don't stare at friends like that!"

"You _have_ been spending suspiciously much time with Bernadetta... time you could have used to train instead. You usually don't do that for _anyone_!" Ingrid said. "I've known you all my life Felix, and to me it looks like you like her more than you like your friends"

"I do not!" Felix replied angrily, this time not in a hushed voice. Everyone in the seminar stared at him and he widened his eyes. Even Bernadetta turned around to look at him wide-eyed. As he noticed her gaze his cheeks turned pink and Sylvain giggled. Felix frowned.

Seteth frowned displeased and crossed his arms. Felix huffed and left the classroom.

  
  


"Felix likes a girl, Felix likes a girl~" Sylvain sang after the seminar was over and he found Felix, pouting. Felix groaned. "I already said I don't!"

Sylvain only grinned at him. Felix rolled his eyes. "Will you let me be if I admit it?" He asked. Sylvain gasped. "You just admitted it!"

The swordsman widened his eyes. "What? No I-"

"You did! You offered to admit it! That means you're willing to admit it!"

"Only if you stop annoying me with it!" Felix replied angered. Sylvain's grin got wider. "I never agreed to that! You have to ask her now!"

Felix frowned, huffed and turned away. "That's a stupid idea"

"Why? Everyone does it, even the professor is going to ask Edelgard. And you said you like Bernie!"

"That doesn't mean she likes me back!" Felix exclaimed. He sighed. "Even if I ask her, I have no guarantee she will say yes..."

Sylvain smiled at him. "I never have a guarantee a girl says yes before I ask her out either. You just have to take the risk sometimes."

"That's something else" Felix said. "You're used to being turned down."

Sylvain huffed. "Ouch..."

"Also... you're used to asking girls for dates. I'm not. I wouldn't even know what to say." He sheepishly admitted. Now Sylvain smiled again, excited this time. "That's no problem at all Felix! For this my friend, you've got me!"

Felix threw his head back and groaned. "Goddess no..."

"Come on Felix, it's gonna be fun! I'll teach you how to ask a girl out. Don't worry," He winked at him. "I think Bernie likes you too"

Felix raised an eyebrow. "You think?"

"Yeah, of course! It's actually pretty obvious" Sylvain answered. Felix gave him a quizzical look. "What gave you the impression?"

"Hm... you know how it's suspicious that you shorten your training time just to spend time with her? With Bernie it's similar. She shortens her alone time and even leaves her room, going to the scary outside, just to be with you and to make you smile."

"To make me smile?"

Sylvain nodded. "Yes. She told me that she saw you smile once, and since then she tried everything she could to make you happy so she could see that smile again. She said it's breathtaking when you smile"

Felix blushed yet again. "She said that?"

"Yes. And afterwards her cheeks became just as pink as yours are now. I'm pretty confident she would say yes if you'd ask her, especially if you smile at her while you do it. Now come on, I'll teach you about the traditions"

"Is that really necessary? Can't I just ask her?"

"Do you even know Bernie? She's into romantic stuff and traditions and all. She'll love it, trust me" He said. Felix groaned again.

  
  


"You did well today" The professor praised Bernadetta after their one-on-one training session. Today Bernadetta had finally managed to correctly use the special lance technique the professor was trying to teach her. Bernadetta smiled and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Thanks professor! I really tried my best!"

The professor's lips curled into a smile and she nodded. "And the results are formidable. You really managed to use vengeance this time. I think we are done for today."

"Really?" Bernadetta asked excited. Then she realized how this might look and turned her gaze downwards, trying to look disappointed. "Uhh, I mean... really?"

The professor chuckled. "You don't have to pretend to be disappointed. You can get back to your room."

Bernadetta sighed relieved. "Thanks professor" And with that, she bolted away. She was really glad her dorm room was so close to the training grounds and not on the first floor like the rooms of all nobles were. That way she was also closer to the classrooms and the dining hall and her escape route was always short.

She ran to her room but stopped in front of the door. There was a flower bouquet on her doorstep. Bernadetta frowned and looked around. Was this for her? Surely that must have been a mistake? Who would give _her_ flowers?

There was no card attached, but her crest was on the white porcelain vase, drawn in spring green. She was the only one in the monastery who had this crest, so it was safe to assume this was for her. Hell, aside from her mother she was the only one on the whole _continent_ who possessed the crest of Indech.

So she took a closer look at the flowers. There were tulips, sunflowers, purple lilacs, gardenias and red carnations. Together the mixture looked rather strange, so it either was the work of someone who had no idea of flowers or the meaning of the flowers was important.

She put the flowers inside and then went to the library to search for a book on flower meanings, blushing as she realized that all of those meant first love or secret love or some kind of affection or adoration.

...Could she be sure she was the only person in the academy who had the crest of Indech? No one would give her of all people flowers with such meaning, at least not knowingly! And she doubted it was a coincidence it were those flowers in the bouquet.

But then the archer remembered something. Those flowers weren't chosen coincidentally and it also was no accident of clashing colors. Today was the 1st of the Pegasus moon and those were the traditional flowers given to someone you wished to date on saint Viridia's day.

The flowers were a confession of love and adoration and at the same time they were asking if those feelings were reciprocated.

Bernadetta put down the book, absolutely shocked. She didn't know what to think right now. This didn't seem to be a mistake, but she still couldn't process how someone could want to date her.

It was like in a fairy tale. It was a dream come true.

But now that it happened it was just way too suspicious for her to entertain the thought that it was real. Maybe it was a trap. Maybe someone wanted to trick Bernie and make her think she is actually lovable and someone wanted to go out with her, and then when she thinks it's true everyone laughs about Bernie.

No, she wouldn't fall for that. She wasn't this stupid. No one loved her.

  
  


"Bern, don't take this the wrong way, but this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard" Dorothea said after Bernadetta had explained to her what those flowers were doing in her room. "Why would anyone try to trick you?"

"So they can laugh about Bernie of course!" The archer explained. Dorothea frowned worried. "Why do you think that? No one laughs about you!"

"You don't know that!" Bernadetta exclaimed. "And at least it's more probable than someone _actually_ wanting to go out with me"

"I actually wouldn't be so sure about that Bern. You're a very kind, smart, talented and modest girl. Not to mention you're very pretty. Many boys and girls of the monastery have looked at you on more than one occasion."

Bernadetta frowned, looking confused and surprised. "Seriously?"

Dorothea nodded with a confident smile before taking Bernadetta's hands. "I don't think anyone tries to trick you Bern. I think you have a secret admirer who wants you to go to the festival with them."

Bernadetta sat down, still not processing this. "You actually think this is serious? No trap for Bernie?"

Smiling the songstress shook her head.

"Huh... And what do I do then?" Bernadetta asked. Dorothea looked upwards and tapped her chin in thought. "Hm... tradition says you have to answer the flowers. You have to put flowers on your doorstep tomorrow; one daffodil means the love isn't requited, a bunch of daffodils mean you accept the confession."

"But... I don't even know who it is!" Bernadetta exclaimed, knitting her eyebrows. "What if it's someone scary?"

Dorothea shrugged. "That's the tradition, Bern. The surprise is part of the fun. Either you take the risk for a chance at love or you decline. At the end it's your decision."

Bernadetta crossed her arms and pouted. "That's a stupid tradition"

Dorothea laughed and put a hand on her shoulder. "Now, Bernadetta, that isn't in the spirit of saint Viridia!"

Bernadetta sighed. "I'll think about it..." She said. The archer was extremely scared about the prospect of dating a stranger. Or dating at all. But on the other hand it was exciting. The thought that someone loved _her_ of all people and wanted a date with her! Going to the festival of lovers together! This could be so romantic! She could be like the protagonist of a fairy tale!

Or it could be horribly awkward like everything she ever did. Of course it would be. Why would it be different this time? She would go to this date and ruin everything and whoever put those flowers on her doorstep would realize they made a huge mistake and would regret ever talking to her and no one would ever love her then.

Her father would probably be happy if she went on a date with someone. But if it was a commoner he would kill them, and then he'd kill her, and then he'd kill her again.

She was torn. She didn't know what to do. She just knew in any case she would need to get flowers. The only question left was how many.

  
  


"This is stupid" Felix mumbled while Sylvain pushed him forward. "You started this, now you have to see it through to the end!"

"It's still stupid"

"I don't care. Check her doorstep." The redhead instructed. Felix sighed and looked around to check if anyone was there, but everyone was at the bow tournament in the training grounds right now. On the way here he had seen flowers on Edelgard's doorstep, Marianne's doorstep and Ashe's doorstep.

On all three was a bunch of daffodils. Whoever wanted to date them had success. Now it was time to see if he could say the same. He was actually nervous as he trotted towards her doorstep.

A bunch of daffodils. That meant yes. Bernadetta wanted to go out with him.

  
  


After the bow tournament was over, everyone left the training grounds, save for the professors and the contestants. When Bernadetta asked panic-fueled if she did something wrong and if she had trouble because she was asked to stay a bit longer to talk to the professors, Byleth blinked at her surprised and calmly said: "Bernadetta, you've won. Why would you be in trouble?" To which Bernadetta sighed relieved.

Apparently they just wanted to talk to the contestants about their great work out there. Bernie was even praised. She was still a little scared Claude would want to kill her for winning against him, but he seemed nice enough and even congratulated her.

Nonetheless Bernadetta stayed on her guard as the two of them walked back to the dorms together. Maybe he was trying to make her feel safe and then when she wasn't paying attention he would attack. Not with Bernie.

The golden deer house leader teased her a bit for how tensed she was as they walked next to each other, until she stopped and gasped. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Something the matter?" He asked.

"The flowers!" Bernadetta exclaimed, pointing to her empty doorstep. "They're gone! The daffodils are gone!"

"Ah, someone brought you Viridia's flowers, right? And since you used the plural of daffodil, I'd assume that means you accepted the confession?" Claude asked, smiling cheeky. Bernadetta nodded. "Yes... does that mean they've seen them? What now?"

Claude shrugged. "I think that means you'll get more flowers tomorrow. Do you know who put them on your doorstep?"

Bernadetta shook her head, a clueless expression on her face. "I have no idea... I can't think of anyone who would want to date Bernie!"

"Really?" Claude asked, sounding surprised. He smiled and shook his head. "I could think of a bunch of people. Maybe Raphael, or Felix, or Mercedes, or Hubert, or Yuri... If I wouldn't know for sure she's in love with Teach I'd also suspect Edelgard. Does anyone of that list seem probable to you?"

Bernadetta stared at him wide eyed and beet red. "Y-you can't be serious! You must be kidding! A-all of those people would date Bernie?"

He nodded, smiling pleased with her reaction. "I'd say so"

She still stared at him unbelieving. "...Do you mean if they have to die or date me they'd decide to date me instead of dying?" She asked incredulous. Claude laughed. "No, I mean they'd probably just want to have a fun day with you."

She furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head.

"In any case" Claude went on. "If you don't know who it is, they'll probably put a card in the flowers tomorrow."

"When?" She asked, scared and excited at the same time. Claude shrugged. "If I would bring you flowers and wouldn't want to be caught, I'd probably put them on your doorstep while you're at Hilda's birthday. You're coming, aren't you?"

Bernadetta sighed and let her shoulders hang. "Yes... but that means I can't catch them..."

"Don't worry Bernie, you'll find out who your secret admirer is soon enough" Claude said while giving her an encouraging smile and laying a hand on her shoulder. Then he left to get to his dorm room while Bernadetta's cheeks were becoming red.

_Secret admirer_

If she wasn't convinced this couldn't be true she'd be happy right now.

  
  


On the 3rd of the Pegasus moon, when Bernadetta returned from Hilda's birthday party, it turned out that Claude's assumption had been right, like always. There indeed were more flowers on her doorstep. A bouquet of a dozen red roses with a single lavender rose in the middle.

Now _this_ bouquet looked just lovely.

She wondered if they were chosen for a special meaning too. Red roses of course meant love, but what about the lavender rose? Was it because of her hair? In any case, it looked extraordinarily pretty.

Since no roses were growing in the greenhouse of the monastery, whoever bought them must have paid a lot for her. Roses weren't cheap. She picked the bouquet up and smelled at the flowers, sighing dreamily at the scent. She stepped inside her room and put the vase - which probably wasn't too cheap either - on her desk before carefully looking for a card among the roses. And indeed she found a folded piece of paper, neatly tied together by lavender colored string. Maybe it indeed was Mercedes. She would have such string and she could easily make such bows.

But as she unfolded the piece of paper she wasn't so sure of that anymore. The handwriting looked rather male, and while there were some girls of the monastery who she could imagine having such a handwriting, Mercedes wasn't one of them. Maybe Leonie, or Ingrid. Or it was a boy after all. Maybe it even was... No, she shouldn't hope too much. He would never give anyone flowers, and he probably didn't like her that way anyway. She would have to be content being one of the few people who ever saw his smile. She shouldn't ask for too much.

Maybe the contents of the letter would give her more clues to who it could be:

_Your messy hair, your rosy lips,_

_your soft skin, your fingertips,_

_your skilled hands, your sweet laugh,_

_your quick legs, your hand for art,_

_your many passions, your brains and smarts,_

_but first and foremost your kind heart,_

_the way you fight, the way you sing,_

_I've fallen for your everything_

_no foe could bring me to my knees,_

_but you, Bernadetta, did with ease_

_your starry eyes and the way they shine,_

_all of this is why I want you to be mine_

Bernadetta blushed deeply as she read those lines. Did someone really think about her like this...? Her cheeks became hot as she thought about it. Could it be true? No trap? Did someone really like her?

The rest of the note said that she could come to the monastery gardens at midnight. So at midnight she would find out.

Either she would finally find out who bought her the flowers and wanted to date her, or everyone would wait there and then laugh when she appears there and actually thought someone would love her. But that was a horrible thing to think! Everyone here was so nice to her and she thought such mean things about them! She was so awful! Why would anyone love someone like this?!

But if someone _did_ like her and wanted to meet her they'd be terribly disappointed if she didn't show up and then they would have bought the expensive vases and the flowers for her and would have had hope for nothing just because she was too scared to show up.

But who would be sad if _she_ didn't show up? Who would ever miss her? No one, that's who. Because no one cared for someone as useless, worthless and unmarriageable as her.

But on the other hand they bought her such nice flowers and put so much effort into this poem. And the way they described her actually made Bernadetta sound like she was _not_ a nuisance to them. Maybe they even actually liked her and it was not trick.

There was only one way to find out.

  
  


"Felix, wait!" Sylvain called out while running after him. He grabbed him by the shoulder, but Felix just shrugged it off and kept stomping towards Bernadetta's room. "No! I have to take that stupid poem away before she can read it!" He said.

Sylvain frowned. "What, no! Why?"

"Because it's stupid and embarrassing! I don't want her to read this cheesy bullshit! I'd never say such sappy lovesick stuff!" Felix said, frowning angered.

"Exactly why you had to write it down instead of saying it, Felix!" Sylvain said. Felix rolled his eyes. "I should have never listened to you... This whole thing was a mistake! She'd never agree to date me anyway! She's scared of me!"

"She's not! Maybe she _was_ scared of you, but now she really likes you!" Sylvain tried to stop him, but Felix was determined to get this horrible poem back. She probably wouldn't even like it. She was so good at writing and so talented, of course she wouldn't like what he wrote! She would immediately recognize how stupid it was! And she definitely wouldn't come to the gardens. Knowing her - and he knew her pretty well - he was sure that she thought this was a trap anyway.

If she read this poem it would only make it more embarrassing for him that he ever played along with those silly saint Viridia's day traditions.

He reached her doorstep and stopped, widening his eyes. Sylvain came to a halt next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Looks like you're too late" He said, hiding the happy grin on his face. "She already saw the flowers. That means you'll have to meet her now."

Felix frowned in a mixture of anger and worry as he stared at the empty doorstep in front of him.

  
  


Bernadetta sat on one of the benches in the gardens of the monastery, shivering a little. She rubbed her thighs while thinking that she probably shouldn't have worn her short skirt for this. She was here a little too early because she was so excited.

Who would it be? Did they actually want to date her? Would they even come?

The archer was more than just nervous. And she wasn't only shaking because of the cold.

She took a deep breath to calm herself when she heard steps in the gardens. Bernadetta raised her head, frantically scanning the area for someone near her.

"Hey" She heard someone behind her greet her shyly. "Didn't think you'd come. I assumed you'd be scared."

She widened her eyes and turned around. It actually was Felix, awkwardly standing there and avoiding eye contact. Her cheeks immediately turned pink.

"F-Felix?" She asked, trying to figure out if this was some kind of dream. "D-did you... did you put those flowers on my doorstep?" She asked. He nodded. "Yeah... so, what do you say?"

She blinked at him dumbfounded. A moment of silence passed. "What?" She asked, shaking her head as if she didn't hear him. He sighed. "Will you go to the festival with me?"

Her blush deepened. "Y-y-you want t-to go to the festival with m-m-me???" She asked while standing up and pointing at him. " _You_? _Felix_? _You_ want to date _me_? Of _all_ people you could ask???" She asked, incredulous.

He frowned. "Yes, of course. Why would I go through the trouble of following these stupid traditions if not for you?"

She stared at him with widened eyes and her mouth hanging open. He frowned worried. "Bernadetta?" No response. He took her by the shoulders. "Bernadetta? Did you faint while standing?"

She quickly shook her head, waking up again. "Huh? Felix? Did you say something?" She asked. He sighed annoyed. "Yes, I asked you to be my date for the festival of lovers. I didn't get an answer yet. So? Will you be my date now or not?" He asked, tired of her nonsense. But the truth was, he was scared of her answer.

"...And this is no trap? You actually want to date me?" She asked. He nodded. She took a deep breath and used all her courage. "Then... Yes! Yes I'll be your date!" She nodded.

"Really?" He asked surprised.

She nodded. "Of course! I've had a crush on you for moons!" She admitted before realizing what she said and blushing. Felix's cheeks turned pink as well.

More silence passed.

"D-did... did you actually mean what you wrote in that letter?" Bernadetta asked, nervously playing with her skirt. He frowned and turned away. "Goddess, right, you read that... That's embarrassing..."

"N-not at all! It was really cute!" She quickly reassured him. He huffed, not really convinced. Bernadetta probably just wanted to be nice. She turned her gaze downwards and sighed. "It made me really happy..."

The tips of his ears turned pink. "I guess that's good at least..."

It may have sounded cruel, but seeing how embarrassed and nervous Felix was made her feel better. It meant this was actually important to him. She smiled at him. "I'll see you tomorrow then" She said before using all of her courage again to go on her tiptoes and kiss his cheek.

He widened his eyes and his cheeks reddened.

Bernadetta's whole head became hot and she ran away as soon as her heels were back on the ground.

Felix stared at her disappearing silhouette while touching his cheek, feeling the faint warmth of her rosy lips remaining. It was a shame she ran away so quickly, he thought. If she would have stayed around for longer, she would have seen Felix smile because of her.

  
  


Bernadetta was staring at herself in the mirror. Since she knew she had a date for the festival, she started sewing a dress. She bought the best cloth she could find and expensive thread, and every day after class she started working on it.

Now she looked at the result of her work. It was a short pink dress with short puffy sleeves and a white belt. She wore a heart-shaped red brooch, pearl earrings and a pearl hair-clip to hold the strands of hair framing her face back in a small ponytail. For this one special occasion she even wore white boots instead of her usual black boots. But she refused to wear high shoes. Or anything else than boots.

She wasn't sure if she did it right, but she used some of the makeup Hilda had given her. She only used it decently though.

Bernadetta took a deep breath to calm herself. Soon he would come to pick her up. Was she really looking good? Good enough for him? There was no more time to think about this or to change something about her appearance. He knocked at her door.

Okay. It was time. Stay calm Bernie.

With shaking hands she opened the door. This was the first time she saw Felix in something else than his school uniform. But he still looked as handsome as always. He raised his eyebrows when he saw her in her outfit, looking her up and down. Then he realized he was staring at her and quickly looked away. "Uhm... you look... nice." He said awkwardly.

"T-thanks! You too!" She answered just as awkwardly.

Felix offered her his arm. "Shall we?" He asked.

She nodded and smiled at him before hooking her arm in his. Then the two of them went to the festival of lovers. Everyone was there. Not only the students and the academy staff but also people from town, some of the knights of Seiros and even the archbishop was there.

Lanterns in many different colors that would be lit up when it became darker decorated the monastery, flower garlands were hung around the statues of the saints everyone dressed nicely for the occasion. The sound of people chatting lively and walking around in masses surrounded them while the band set up their instruments for later and sweet scents of different delicious foods from the different booths filled the air.

As Felix looked around he saw that Sylvain had success in his mission; he was with Dorothea, and both were laughing and chatting. The redhead was also right about the professor; Byleth was sitting next to Edelgard, and the princess wore a light pink strawberry dress for the occasion, actually looking like she had fun and was casual for once. She even laughed while she was talking to the professor. The less serious look suited her. The flowers on Ashe's doorstep apparently were from Caspar and Hilda was responsible for the flowers on Marianne's doorstep.

Everyone seemed to have fun here. But Felix felt lost.

"So... what do you want to do?" He asked, because _he_ didn't even want to be here. He did like Bernadetta, but he could have spent time with her alone too. He only was at this festival so he could write his father he was there with a noble girl and the old man would stop bothering him with betrothals and marriage for a while.

Bernadetta shrugged. "I'm kinda hungry... maybe we could get something to eat first?" She asked. He nodded. "Sure. You want something sweet, right?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes!"

"Alright" He said, going to get her food because even without her having to ask him, he knew she was afraid of ordering something herself. She was grateful for how good he understood her. While he was gone she tried to attract no attention. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone and briefly feared her choice of color may have been a mistake for the bright pink makes her stand out in the masses. Not good if she wanted to tarn and blend in.

But then she remembered she didn't have to tarn here. She wasn't in danger here. Bernadetta was on a date, an actual date, with Felix at that.

She sighed dreamily as she thought about it again. Felix actually went on a date with her! She had to giggle at the thought. It was so surreal.

"What's so funny?" Felix asked while giving her the food he got for her. It was a dessert from the Leicester Alliance which was like a really thin pancake with chocolate sauce and powdered sugar. She beamed at the sweet delicacy he brought her and licked over her lips while taking it. "Thank you!" She said.

He crossed his arms. "So? What were you giggling about?" He repeated his question.

She took a bite of the dessert and nearly melted. She wiped over her mouth and smiled up at him. "Just still can't believe that you wanted to go to the festival with me of all people! That makes me..." She turned her gaze downwards, smiling content. "Happy"

He smiled and rolled with his eyes and Bernadetta beamed at him. "You're smiling!" She exclaimed happily as if his smile was the most precious thing in the world.

And the best thing was, this time he even kept smiling. "That's your fault, you know"

She blushed. He offered her his hand. Smiling she took it.

"Do you want to eat something too?" She asked. He shook his head. "No... everything at this festival is disgustingly sweet."

"It's not that bad... have you ever tried?" Bernadetta asked. Felix frowned. "Don't even think about it. I won't try your weird pancake thing."

"But it tastes so good!" Bernadetta replied. Felix rolled his eyes. "Maybe for you..."

The archer pouted before her face lit up as if she had an idea. "I got it! Over there they have spicy chocolate cakes! I bet you would like that!" She exclaimed excitedly. Felix sighed and she pouted again. "Please? Just try once, for me! If you don't like it, I'll spar with you every day for the next week!" She said, smiling confidently.

Now Felix smiled intrigued. She was one of his favorite training partners, but he rarely got her to leave her room. He wouldn't let this opportunity pass. "Make it two weeks and I'll try"

"Deal!" She said before pulling him towards the spicy chocolate cakes.

Felix couldn't imagine chocolate and spiciness to work together, but as a great cook Bernadetta knew that their aromas complimented each other well. The only question left was if he would like the combination.

He eyed the piece of cake warily before taking a bite.

"And?" She asked. He frowned pissed as he chewed. "...It tastes good" He admitted grumpily. Bernadetta beamed at him and jumped in the air. "Yes! I knew you would like it!" She exclaimed.

But Felix wasn't so happy, even though he found something on this festival he could eat. He sighed and looked down. He probably really looked forward to training with her. And she had to ruin that for him. Like she ruined everything. She knitted her eyebrows and smiled at him. "Hey uh... we can... we can still train, you know?"

"Really?" He asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah. I mean, not necessarily _every_ day but... w-we can still train together!" She assured him, putting her hand on his arm. He raised an eyebrow, confused about her offer even though she won the bet. "But you hate training?"

"W-well..." She stuttered, awkwardly shuffling around. "It's... it's not as bad when I get to do it with you" She admitted, smiling up at him. The swordsman blushed and quickly looked away, making her giggle. "Alright then..." Felix said while nodding, still stubbornly looking the other way. "What now?"

"Hm... Oh, look! There you can win a plush animal when you knock down all the cans!" She exclaimed excited. Felix frowned and crossed his arms, huffing annoyed. "Of course Anna would make money out of stupid lovesick teenagers. She makes money of everything."

"Don't be so cynical! It's cute!"

"Why is that cute?"

"Because the plush animals are cute! Look, there's a little cat plushy!" She turned to Felix and grinned at him. "Felix, I'm gonna win you this cat"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "And why?"

"To show you that it's cute!"

"I still don't see that it's cute" He said, looking disinterested. She crossed her arms and pouted. "You're just no fun... But when you have this plushy that will always remind you of today, you will realize that it's nice! Unless..." She widened her eyes in fear. "Unless you don't want anything that reminds you of me! Of course you don't! Why would anyone ever want to have to think about Bernie? That would be horrible! I can't stand it to think about me!"

"Shut up!" Felix scolded her, taking her firmly by the shoulders. "It's not horrible to think about you, Bernadetta. It's actually nice. I don't mind thinking about you as long as I'm not on the battlefield. I didn't say that because I don't want a gift from you, I said it just because I think throwing balls at cans to win a plush is stupid."

"Really?" She asked, calming down again. He nodded. "Yes, really" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Seiros, you really need to learn how to listen. Most of the time when you assume people hate you or threat you they said no word about that at all."

Bernadetta sighed. "Yes, I know... Edelgard talked to me about this as well... she said I should listen to what people say before jumping to conclusions... we are currently working on it"

"Well, Edelgard's right. You should try to do that. And now get that cat if you must."

She beamed at him. "Really? You want it?"

"I don't _want_ it, it just wouldn't bother me to have it. And if you think it's fun then don't let me stop you."

The archer nodded and smiled confidently. "Alright then!" She ran over to Anna's booth and Felix followed her, shaking his head and smiling about her childlike excitement. Bernadetta then gave Anna some gold. "One ball please!"

"Alright kid, try your luck!" Anna said, giving Bernadetta a ball. Bernadetta took a step backwards, narrowing her eyes to aim like she did when she shot. She could shoot an enemy's eye from a distance of 100 meters with her bow and arrow, hitting some cans with a ball shouldn't be too hard for her.

She aimed for a stack of cans and threw the ball hard enough to knock all of them down. Anna blinked surprised. "She sure throws strong" She said, sounding impressed.

Meanwhile Bernadetta looked all excited again. "I did it!" She exclaimed, turning to Felix and taking his hands. "I actually did it Felix!"

He smiled and huffed amused. "Of course you did. What did you expect?"

"So, what do you want? You knocked down all of the cans, so you can choose a price freely" Anna said, gesturing to the shelves behind her. Bernadetta didn't have to think for long. "This one!" She said, pointing at the cat. Anna nodded and gave her the price she proudly handed over to Felix. "This is fun! I think I want to try again!"

"Again?" Anna asked, sounding scared. "Well then let's hope you have the same luck again..." The merchant said while exchanging gold for another ball as she prayed to saint Viridia that this indeed was only luck the first time. But of course it was no luck but skill and so Bernadetta won again, choosing a cute hedgehog plush for her.

"Alright, but that's it now, or you're gonna ruin me kid!" Anna said, frowning displeased with how business was going today.

"I didn't try yet" Felix said, grinning. That scared Anna yet again. He took a ball and aimed at another stack of cans while Anna picked up the ones Bernadetta had thrown down, and with one ball they were down. Anna groaned. "Why did I think it was a good idea to make money by testing the physical abilities of students of the Officers Academy?"

Bernadetta giggled. Felix crossed his arms and smiled at her. "So? Which one do you want?"

"Another one for me?" She asked surprised. He shrugged. "I don't really care for plush animals, I just like this one because _you_ got it for me" He casually said, making her blush. "But I know that you like them, so you can choose one. So?"

"Mhh... I'll take the other cat! Then they belong together!" She said cheerily while Anna reached up to give her the cat. "I'll be in the red after this... Princess Edelgard knocked down all my cans with only one ball, Claude opted for shooting the cans down because apparently 'it's nowhere in the rules he can't use bow and arrow' and Prince Dimitri nearly destroyed my booth when he threw! And Princess Petra didn't understand the rules and threw the ball at _me_ instead of at the cans! Next year I surely won't do this again!" Anna complained.

Bernadetta and Felix left her booth while the archer giggled. "See, I told you this was gonna be fun!" She exclaimed.

Even Felix had to admit that he enjoyed himself. "It was" He said, smiling. But what was even better than the game was to see her so happy and relaxed. She wasn't scared at all, she wasn't tensed or anxious. She forgot her father and her horrible home she would have to return to soon for a moment and instead just smiled and enjoyed the day with Felix. That she seemingly felt safe enough with him to let go like that made him happy.

Seeing in what a good mood she was, Felix decided to try something. Hesitantly he took her hand into his. She widened her eyes at the sudden touch and turned to him blushing, but when he wanted to let go again because he though this was uncomfortable for her, she tightened her grip around his hand to not let him go. So she liked this.

He smiled at her and she smiled back while they walked through the festival, hand in hand.

  
  


Later on when it got darker they turned on the lanterns and lit up the night in beautiful colors. There was a band too and everyone was enjoying themselves while the festival was buzzing with life. It was pretty and romantic and the mood was nice, but with more and more people coming here Felix and Bernadetta wanted a little break.

Since they were on a date and everyone was busy with their own dates they were left alone most of the time, but occasionally their friends talked to them or dragged them to one of the several fun activities the festival had to offer. So the two loners decided to take a break from the social interaction by taking a stroll to a quieter area of the monastery.

The staff put up a cute little stone bench in a secluded area surrounded by flower curtains. "Wow..." Bernadetta said as she pushed the tendrils and the flowers out of the way. "They really broke their backs to make this pretty..."

"It's nice" Felix agreed as they sat down. Bernadetta turned her head upwards and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and enjoying the fresh air and the moonshine on her skin. Felix looked at her while her eyes were closed, admiring her features in the moonlight. Usually she was only that relaxed when she was alone. She really was pretty.

He put his hand on hers and she opened her eyes to look over at him, realizing that he was looking at her and smiling. She blushed. Today alone he had smiled more often than in the last two moons. And even though she had seen his smile so often by now, it made her heart skip a beat every time. Usually he never was that happy. He was so handsome.

Without even noticing it, he leaned in closer. But Bernadetta noticed it. She realized that this was the perfect moment for a kiss. Was he going to kiss her? Did he even want to kiss her? She never thought about the possibility that someone could want to kiss her, but she had learned a lot she didn't know before this Pegasus moon. Maybe he did want to kiss her and he would do it now. Oh goddess. What should she do? Was she supposed to lean towards him too? Should she close her eyes now? What if she wasn't even good at kissing? Of course she wasn't good, she never kissed anyone ever before! She would be terrible and he would notice and then he would leave because she's such a bad kisser and made everything awkward!

"Bernadetta?" Felix's voice stopped her thoughts from racing on. He looked worried. "Are you okay? You look scared"

"N-no, I'm fine" She replied. She had to calm down. She couldn't let him notice how nervous she was.

But what she didn't know was, that Felix was nervous too. He _wanted_ to kiss her, but he didn't know how he was supposed to start. What if he just kissed her and then she didn't even want it and he only scares her? But asking if she wanted to felt so awkward and while he tried to do it, he realized that no words left his throat and his heart started beating faster because he was anxious about it. And contrary to what Bernadetta thought, Felix hadn't kissed anyone before either.

He sighed frustrated. How was it possible that he fearlessly stormed on the battlefield to fight anyone in his way to the death but it made him _so_ nervous to ask a girl for a kiss?

"Uhm... Bernie?" He asked. She turned to look at him and hummed affirmatively. He sighed and decided to get it over with. "Is it... Is it okay if I kiss you?" He asked.

She widened her eyes and blushed deeply, the color of her face matching her dress. "Y-you... want to kiss me???" She asked, becoming redder and redder.

He blushed as well and nodded. "If that's okay for you... I understand if you're uncomfortable with that though."

"N-no! I-I would like to!" She said, nodding so fast she almost became dizzy. "Sure?" Felix asked, frowning worried. He knew about the terrible things her father had done to her in order to make her a good wife, so Felix was scared she would only say yes because she thought she had to. He wanted to make sure she said yes because she wanted this too, and not because she felt pressured.

But she nodded again. "Y-yes, I'm sure... I would... I would really like that, I think..." She smiled at him and took his hand. He nodded. "Alright then..." He cupped her cheek with the hand she wasn't holding and slowly leaned in, tilting his head to the side.

They both closed their eyes and leaned forward until their lips touched. At first it was awkward and clumsy because it was the first kiss for both of them and they were nervous, but once the tension was gone they melted into each other.

They shifted closer to each other as they kissed under the moonlight and held each others hands tighter. Felix's long lashes tickled Bernadetta while she was marveled by his soft lips.

Bernadetta's lips tasted like the strawberries on the tart Lysithea had given her earlier, but despite the sweet taste he wasn't bothered at all. He even kind of liked it.

As they broke the kiss they looked at each other, breathless. For a first try this wasn't even half bad. They just looked into each others eyes and Felix was amazed by how the moonlight reflected in those silver orbs before realizing that she was the first person he could hold eye-contact with without feeling uncomfortable. And Bernadetta lost herself in his warm, pretty amber eyes, trying to define what exact color they were so she could buy it to paint him.

She was the first to break the silence: "That was... really nice" She said, smiling embarrassed. His cheeks turned pink again and he nodded. "It was"

Bernadetta looked down at her lap, nervously pushing her index fingers together. "C-can we uhm... can we... do that m-more often now?" She asked, becoming red at her request.

"...Yes, sure" He answered after a short hesitation. She turned to look at him with hopeful eyes. "Really? Like, even when this date is over?"

He nodded and pet over the back of her hand with his thumb. "Yes. I would... really like that. And actually... I think I would like to date you again too." He said. Bernadetta beamed at him and her smile made his heart melt.

And all of a sudden marriage didn't seem so bad to him anymore, if he married the right person at least.

In his mind he thanked Sylvain for convincing him to ask her out and for forcing him to play along with those ridiculous saint Viridia's day traditions. Maybe they weren't so stupid after all. And even if they were, that didn't matter.

Because even if he didn't know it yet, Felix would give Bernadetta those traditional flowers every year for saint Viridia's day, for as long as they lived.

  
  


  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my first fanfic on AO3! I hope I'll post more in the future and comments and Kudos are highly appreciated!


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